Belle & Sebastian : NPR

Brace Yourself For Three New Belle And Sebastian EPs

Belle & Sebastian is about to release three EPs, rolled out roughly once a month starting Dec. 8. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Brace Yourself For Three New Belle And Sebastian EPs

October 10, 2017 • The How To Solve Our Human Problems trilogy will be rolled out over three months, starting Dec. 8. Hear "I'll Be Your Pilot" now.

Strange News

Belle And Sebastian Leave Drummer Behind

August 18, 2017 • The band pulled over at a Walmart in North Dakota, but the tour bus left before Richard Colburn was back. They didn't notice for hours because people were sleeping. He later made it onto a flight.

Belle And Sebastian Leave Drummer Behind

Listen · 0:29 0:29

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/544365075/544365076" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Hear Belle And Sebastian's New Olympic Anthem

A still from the video for Belle and Sebastian's "Olympic Village, 6AM." Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Hear Belle And Sebastian's New Olympic Anthem

August 10, 2016 • The cheerful, buoyant instrumental track, titled "Olympic Village, 6AM," is tailor-made for a heroic sports montage.

Weekend LISTening: World Cafe's 11 Favorite Glaswegian Bands

Franz Ferdinand. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

Weekend LISTening: World Cafe's 11 Favorite Glaswegian Bands

XPN

July 8, 2016 • Today's World Cafe guest, Frightened Rabbit, inspires this weekend's list of fellow Glasgow bands.

New Mix: The Velvet Underground, Belle & Sebastian, Grouper, More

Clockwise from top: Belle And Sebastian, Grouper, Bo Ningen, The Velvet Underground Courtesy of the artists hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

New Mix: The Velvet Underground, Belle & Sebastian, Grouper, More

October 28, 2014 • On this week's All Songs Considered, we share dance music from Belle & Sebastian and unreleased Velvet Underground, plus Bob Boilen discusses new discoveries from this year's CMJ Music Marathon.

New Mix: The Velvet Underground, Belle & Sebastian, Grouper, More

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/359407473/359605913" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tricky (upper left), Sufjan Stevens (upper right), Sharon Van Etten (bottom left) and Antony Hegarty (bottom right). hide caption

toggle caption

All Songs Considered

Fall Music Preview

September 21, 2010 • On this edition of All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen talks with Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson about some of the albums they're most heavily anticipating this fall.

Fall Music Preview

Listen · 1:13:33 1:13:33

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/130019740/130019739" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

All Songs Considered

2006 Live Concert Highlights

August 17, 2006 • It's been a busy year for live music on All Songs Considered. On this edition of All Songs Considered we look back at some of the highlights from our year in live music.

2006 Live Concert Highlights

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15961257/15961262" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

All Songs Considered

Belle and Sebastian, Frank Emilio Flynn, Arctic Monkeys

February 15, 2006 • New music from Belle and Sebastian; singer for New Pornographers Neko Case; the simple, sweet songs of Super XX Man; Contra dances from The Portland Connection and more.

Belle and Sebastian, Frank Emilio Flynn, Arctic Monkeys

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15961793/15961796" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

All Songs Considered

The Best CDs of 2003: Listeners' Picks

December 23, 2003 • The mail poured in from listeners telling us their picks for 2003's best CDs. There were a few ties and a number of albums we'd never heard of before. But in the end there were some clear winners.

The Best CDs of 2003: Listeners' Picks

Only Available in Archive Formats.

Real Media

Belle And Sebastian, 'The Party Line' (Live)

Belle and Sebastian performs live on KCRW. Jeremiah Garcia/KCRW hide caption

toggle caption

Jeremiah Garcia/KCRW

Favorite Sessions

Belle And Sebastian, 'The Party Line' (Live)

KCRW

February 11, 2015 • Watch the charismatic Glaswegian pop band perform its danceable new song, "The Party Line."

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance'

Belle And Sebastian's new album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, comes out Jan. 20. Søren Solkær/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Søren Solkær/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance'

January 11, 2015 • The Glaswegian folk-pop band's ninth album feels light on its feet, but without sacrificing the thoughtful, careful precision for which Stuart Murdoch and his collaborators are known.

Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

New Music

A Paean to the Music of Summer

July 3, 2007 • Summer has arrived, the sun is shining (at least, it's supposed to be) and music journalist/armchair philosophizer Christian Bordal ruminates on the appropriate sounds for the season.

A Paean to the Music of Summer

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11477724/11692497" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

World Cafe

What Belle and Sebastian Learned at University

XPN

November 13, 2006 • Belle and Sebastian was formed by Stuart Murdoch while he was a student at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. The band was supposed to be a side project, but it has become a decade-long success known for its easygoing, '60s-sounding music.

What Belle and Sebastian Learned at University

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5330587/6482329" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music

Stuart Murdoch: The 'Pursuit' of Belle and Sebastian

Fresh Air

March 6, 2006 • Stuart Murdoch is the front man for the Scottish indie-pop band Belle and Sebastian. For the group's new CD, The Life Pursuit, they've broken two long-standing traditions: making quietly precious music, and refusing to embrace the media.

Stuart Murdoch: The 'Pursuit' of Belle and Sebastian

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5244680/5244687" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

October 2, 2008 • Maybe your relationship will mark the beginning of a lifetime in which you alternate bliss and contentment. Perhaps it'll lead to a ruinous, humiliating spectacle in which vicious rumors give way to desktop knickknacks being stuffed hastily into boxes and hauled out by security. Either way, you need these five songs to guide you through your exciting and unpredictable new life.

Belle And Sebastian's Holiday Spectacular

Courtesy of the artist

Live in Concert

Belle And Sebastian's Holiday Spectacular

December 20, 2010 • For the group's last show of the year, frontman Stuart Murdoch and the rest of Belle and Sebastian dig deep into their archives to share popular classics, fan favorites and a few festive surprises. Watch the show, recorded live from Glasgow.

Belle And Sebastian's Holiday Spectacular

Audio is no longer available

Belle and Sebastian courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

A Gift From Belle & Sebastian

December 16, 2010 • Belle and Sebastian is wrapping up it's 2010 tour with a final stop in the band's hometown of Glasgow and wants you to see and hear it all. The band will live webcast video of the concert on NPR Music beginning at 4 p.m. ET next Tuesday, Dec. 21.

Belle And Sebastian's Business Plan: Open A Taqueria In Glasgow

Two with carne asada, please. Jo Hale/Getty hide caption

toggle caption

Jo Hale/Getty

Planet Money

Belle And Sebastian's Business Plan: Open A Taqueria In Glasgow

October 7, 2010 • "... this could be the thing that allows me to carry on doing music -- to serve a decent taco."

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Write About Love'

Belle and Sebastian. courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Write About Love'

October 3, 2010 • As might be expected of masterful lyricists like Stuart Murdoch and his bandmates, Belle and Sebastian's eighth studio album isn't a collection of straightforward love songs. Instead, it peruses a wider array of relatable themes, exploring past, present and future lovers, life, religion and financial hardship. Hear the album in its entirety here until its Oct. 12 release.

Belle And Sebastian: On 'Love' And Faith

Belle and Sebastian Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

Music Articles

Belle And Sebastian: On 'Love' And Faith

October 8, 2010 • The indie-pop band from Glasgow has seen its audience and influence grow since its 1996 debut. The group's eighth studio album, Write About Love, tackles religious themes more overtly than ever before. Stuart Murdoch, the group's leader, says writing about his faith feels natural for him, but that he's quick to draw the line between his music and Christian rock.

Belle And Sebastian: On 'Love' And Faith

Listen · 7:20 7:20

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/130366511/130421579" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript